Grandmother Sentenced to Prison for Her Faith

(Minghui.org) A Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province, resident stood trial on January 18, 2023, and was convicted for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

When Ms. Cheng Yulan’s two Falun Gong practitioner guests, Ms. Jia Xiurong and Ms. Liu Suchun, left her home on July 12, 2022, the police, who had been lying in wait, arrested them. The police then broke in and arrested Ms. Cheng, as well as her daughter-in-law and teenage grandson, who shared the residence with her.

After ransacking Ms. Cheng’s home and confiscating her two sets of Falun Gong books, a printer, and a cellphone, the police also raided Ms. Jia and Ms. Liu’s residences before arresting and raiding the home of a fourth practitioner Mr. Liu Junfeng. All six were then taken to the Nangang Police Station.

Yue Cheng, the deputy director of the Domestic Security Office, called Ms. Cheng’s son in the afternoon and ordered him to pick up his son. But Yue refused to release his wife or mother.

Yue also demanded that Ms. Cheng’s son sign a statement slandering Falun Gong and pay 3,000 yuan before his wife could be released. He had no choice but to comply and was allowed to pick up his wife the next day.

Two officers of the Nangang Police Station came to Ms. Cheng’s home two days later. They showed her daughter-in-law over 40 photos and forced her to identify Ms. Cheng, Ms. Jia, Ms. Liu Suchun, and Ms. Liu Junfeng in the photos.

The four practitioners were later transferred to the Huanan Detention Center and then to the Jiamusi City Detention Center on August 4, 2022. Ms. Cheng and Ms. Liu Junfeng had their arrests approved and remained in custody in the Jiamusi City Detention Center. Ms. Jia and Ms. Liu Suchun were released on bail on August 18.

In early January 2023, Ms. Cheng’s family was informed by the Xiangyang District Court that she was scheduled to appear in court on January 18 through a video conference. Her family wasn’t allowed to attend. It’s not clear whether the judge sentenced her during the session.

It has been confirmed that both Ms. Cheng and Ms. Liu Junfeng were tried on the same day. The judge forced Ms. Liu to enter a guilty plea. She was sentenced to eight months with one year probation and a 5,000-yuan fine. She was released on January 19. Ms. Cheng was sentenced to twenty-one months and fined 10,000 yuan.

Before Ms. Cheng took up Falun Gong in 1997, she struggled with a severe heart condition and rheumatoid arthritis. She was so weak that she didn’t have the strength to even do the laundry. The physical suffering also caused her to have an irritating temper. But two months after she started practicing Falun Gong, all of her ailments disappeared and she became a more peaceful person. As she upheld her faith in the face of the persecution, she was targeted several times and once forced to live away from home to hide from the police.